Warhammer: Empire Reboot

Gerka pointed his machete at him.

"Point out that A-something-na! Right now!"

The little devil crawled out shakily and pulled out half of the imperial star map from his pocket.

The star map had clearly been burned, soaked in water, trampled, and marked with some kind of unidentified teeth. The little devil spread it on the ground and spent a long time drawing on it with a red crayon, becoming more and more flustered as he drew.

"Boss..."

Gerka squinted.

The farting voice suddenly dropped eight octaves: "I can't find Agrippina. This paper is full of holes. I don't know where we are, and I don't know where it is..."

The bridge was silent for a second.

Gerka looked down at him.

"You don't know the way?"

The little brat cried, "But I know which side is redder—"

boom.

Gerka kicked him.

The fart splattered into the adamantite bulkhead like a cannonball, exploding into a cloud of green blood and rags, which slid down the wall.

Gelka pointed to another orc boy next to him who had wet his pants.

"You! Lead the way!"

The orc boy's eyes widened: "Me?"

"Yes! If you don't know the way, just drive by feel!"

Gelka slung the machete back over his shoulder.

"We'll go wherever the fire is the biggest and the gunfire is the loudest!"

"Waaagh!!!"

The green-skinned fleet, spewing black smoke, collided with each other three times, destroyed two small boats, and finally roared into the subspace.

The direction may not be right.

It has a very strong presence.

……

The courtroom, a black ship, the main hall.

The brass printer spat out parchment, and before the gears had even come to a complete stop, Valerius had already ripped the paper off.

There are very few words on it.

"This is Agrippina Prime. I am Lawson, the Dark Side Master of the Empire."

The last line is shorter.

"Fuck you all."

Valerius crumpled the parchment into a ball.

The rose-shaped knot on his chest heaved as if it might tear his black robe at any moment.

"madman."

He threw the crumpled paper on the ground.

"A madman with no sense of reverence."

None of the servants around dared to bend down and pick it up.

Valerius turned to look at his senior adjutant and the assembled inquisitors.

"The Dark Side Manipulator of the Empire?"

He gave a cold laugh.

"How dare he use that title?"

No one responded.

This is not a question meant to be answered.

Valerius himself provided the answer.

"Lord Makado's seal represents supreme dictatorship that transcends the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Justice, and even the Inquisition. Dante is merely a Chapter Master of a Space Marine. Even if he currently holds the title of Dark Regent, what right does he have to give such a thing to a warlord whose origins as a Geneseed are unclear?"

In his view, no matter how bloated, corrupt, or sluggish the imperial bureaucracy was, it was still a shackle.

A shackle to prevent humanity from slipping into another great rebellion.

Lawson bypassed the High Lord of Terra, bypassed the court's review, and bypassed all the procedures that should have involved stamping, signing, and a hundred years of wrangling.

He occupied a forging world larger than Terra.

They held unregistered troops and fleets in their hands.

They've now broadcast what's essentially a declaration of independence to the entire galaxy.

This is not a meritorious person.

These are variables.

The court hates variables the most.

"What about Lawson's in-depth investigation?"

Valerius looked at the chief adjutant.

"Genetic sequence. Chapter origin. Military origin. How can he control the Agrippina Thinker Array? What exactly is that flame that blocks warp contamination?"

Lieutenant Silas immediately opened the data panel.

"My lord, the Dark Side intelligence network is already 80% paralyzed. Regarding Lawson, we only have a briefing sent back by Regent Dante via astro-language encryption. The briefing states that his chapter is called 'The Avengers,' and that their soul purity has passed the Wheel of Judgment test."

"The Wheel of Judgment is an inanimate object."

Valerius interrupted him.

People's hearts can change.

Silas bowed his head: "Yes, sir."

"If he can't protect Agrippina, the Forged World will fall into the hands of the Black Legion, the Chaos Warband, or the demons."

Valerius walked to the tactical table and tapped his knuckles on the edge of the star chart.

"Ground Cannon, Complete Industrial Line, Thinker Array, Shipyard, Armory."

With each word he uttered, the heads of the surrounding attendants bowed slightly.

"This is equivalent to him personally building an inexhaustible arsenal for Chaos."

Silas saw an opportunity.

He was young and ambitious, and had not yet learned the most important lesson in the courtroom.

Some credit is too much to ask for.

"grown ups."

Silas straightened his back.

"Since Lawson has already posed an irreversible threat to the dark side of the Empire, and Dante Regent's authorization is suspected of being an overreach of authority, we must take action."

Valerius looked at him.

Silas pointed to the coordinates of Agrippina.

"I request the deployment of the Red Hunter Space Marine Company accompanying this ship, and the requisition of the nearby Ministry of the Interior's Combined Fleet. We shall immediately warp to the Agrippina Sector."

He got more and more comfortable talking.

"In the name of the court, take direct control of local defense. Conduct a forced heresy investigation on Lawson himself. If he resists, purge him on the spot."

He finished speaking and waited for approval.

The lobby was so quiet that only the clicking of the printer gears whirring idly could be heard.

Valerius slowly turned his head.

That look didn't seem to be directed at the adjutant.

It's like watching a mutated, mentally challenged child who has just learned to stand.

"To Agrippina?"

Silas's throat moved.

Valerius took a step forward.

"Take a company of Space Marines and a few dilapidated Interior Ministry cruisers to there to interrogate him?"

"My lord, this is the duty of the court—"

"Has your brain been eaten away by warp maggots?"

Valerius grabbed him by the collar and dragged him to the star map.

He pointed to the reddening star field, his spittle almost landing on Silas's face.

"Open your eyes wide and look! The Khorne Warband is turning! The Nurgle Plague Fleet is turning! The Ork Orcs are swarming over there like flies to a cesspool!"

He slammed Silas onto the star map.

"Are you going to Agrippina at this time to conduct an investigation, or to deliver a skull to the Great Demon Khorne?"

Silas's face turned pale.

“But sir, Lawson—”

"Losen is a madman."

Valerius released him.

"But he's not stupid."